First, we need to know more about the Uzumaki family…

As the Hokage's apprentice, Sakura spent a lot of time in and out of the administrative buildings of Konoha, and getting to the needed records should be simple enough. Problem was, they didn't seem to exist.

"Excuse me, Tsunade-sama?"

"Ah, Sakura, what can I do for you?"

"Naruto wasn't looking well last night, so I went to check on him."

"Is he alright?"

"I think so, but…"

"What is it?"

"I was a little worried at first, so I wanted to check the treatment history for the Uzumaki family. But I can't seem to find it in the hall of records."

Sakura watched as Tsunade and Shizune shared a surprised glance at each other, and Sakura could sense a palatable aura of nervousness from them both which came and vanished in a moment, though when Shizune spoke, she sounded less then convincing.

"Well…perhaps it was misfiled."

"I'm sure I checked everywhere, very carefully…"

Sakura did her best to portray an innocent, slightly befuddled little girl, tapping her temple with one finger and rolling her eyes upwards.

"I'm sure they're around, somewhere. I'll have someone look for them and send them to your home."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

Sakura bowed and left. She could feel Tsunade and Shizune's eyes boring into her back. Shizune didn't prod Tsunade to begin working again like she always did after the Hokage's work was interrupted, and there was no expected sigh from Tsunade in turn. It was perfectly quiet when Sakura left, after she closed the door behind her, and as she continued down the hall as if nothing unusual was happening. She could still sense the Hokage's attention on her. There was no way she could stay outside the door and eavesdrop on someone of Tsunade's level, but the long silence had told her plenty.

…and about Naruto himself…

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei."

"Oh, hello, Chouji."

"One bowl of miso ramen, please."

Chouji waited until the owner of Naruto's favorite ramen stand disappeared into the kitchen before continuing.

"So, it's funny about what Naruto turned into, you know? Because of all the pranks he used to pull."

"Turned into?"

"Oh, didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"A missing-nin used a nasty jutsu on him during his last mission, so Kiba-kun and his team are taking care of him until it can be dispelled."

"What kind of jutsu? How is he?"

"Oh, he's fine, just acting like a fox."

"A…fox?"

"Yeah! He's even got a big, fluffy tail and a new pair of furry red ears. It kind of suits him, y'know?"

"Y…yeah…I guess…"

The owner came back right then, and Chouji watched Iruka try to control his shaking hands.

"I was wondering…why did Naruto pull all those pranks anyways? He never seemed like the mean type."

"No, no…he…it was just…his way of getting attention."

"Getting attention?"

"Yes, his…his parent died when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. He was alone after that."

"Oh. I never knew…did you know his parents? What were they like?"

"Oh, well I…I didn't know them, not really. I just…lost my parents in that battle as well, and I guess I knew what Naruto was going through, so I tried to help take care of him."

"I see…I'm sorry."

"It's all right."

They ate in silence until they parted ways, Iruka's face a mix of emotions, most of which seemed to be worry.

…and finally, why is everyone so uncomfortable around Naruto now?

"Hinata…"

"Yes, father?"

He didn't respond, only continued to stare at her.

"What is it?"

He set down his tea and pointed at her head.

"Oh!"

She lifted a hand up and tweaked the cat ears she had given herself with henge, the tail appearing from behind her and waving in the air.

"I had forgotten all about it, sorry."

She released the transformation, and continued eating her lunch as if nothing had happened.

"Why were you in such a ridiculous form?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see how I would look with them, after seeing Naruto-kun with his fox ears and tail."

The poor teacup, having just returned to Hiashi's hand, exploded. Hot tea and shards of porcelain were sent flying, with Hinata and Neji quickly protecting themselves. Hiashi's face was set in stone, completely unreadable as he tried to clean himself up. Inner Neji was bent double with laugher at the sight, and shored up his self-control, with what he was about to say to Hinata.

"It's unbecoming for someone of a noble family."

Hinata harrumphed and took another bite of her lunch.

"It looked nice on Naruto-kun, so I wanted to try it."

"You shouldn't even be allowed around Naruto while his mind is impaired."

"What?!"

What is Neji doing? We're supposed to try to get information about Naruto-kun!

"How can you say-"

"Did you really think I didn't know about your crush on Naruto?"

Hiashi gagged, covered his mouth and tried to hide it with a cough, earning himself a real coughing that left him downing two cups of water to soothe his throat.

"But…what…how did…"

"Please, Hinata. Everyone knows. And you should know that a ninja must remain impartial while on a mission, especially on one from the Hokage herself. After I saw the way you were looking at him while you were holding his leash-"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hiashi's eyes widen far more then Neji thought humanly possible.

"-I'm just worried you might try to take advantage of him."

On Neji's left, Hinata was speechless, her entire face flushed a deep pink. On his right, Hiashi was equally quiet, though he was twitching quite a bit. Neji quickly finished his food and excused himself. Once he was out of sight, he sped away to the nearest rooftop, pulled his shirt off, wadding it up and shoving his face into it. Now properly muffled, he could finally let out the laughter he had kept pent-up, rolling around on his back, legs kicking out, and arms tight around the cloth over his mouth.

All over Konoha, the rest of the genin discreetly tried to gain information about Naruto's past, and happily told their families about Naruto's transformation, carefully watching the reaction. They all went to bed carefully reviewing what they heard, and the pre-arraigned times to meet with Shikamaru and give him the information.

And that morning, Tsunade arrived to work to find a very irate group of jounin waiting for her.